Articulated locomotive



Nov. 5, 1929. R. H. WHITELEGG ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE Filed June 28 1928Patented Nov. 5, 1929 UNITED STATES ROBERT HAIR-BEN VIHITELEGG, DISLEY,ENGLAND ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE Application filed .Tune 28, 1928, SerialNo. 288,870, and in Great Britain December 29 1927.

This invention relates to articulated locomotives having water or fueltanks or both carried upon the power driven units in front of and/orbehind the boiler.

Articulated locomotives of the above gcneral character as at presentconstructed suffer from the fact that accessibility to the elementsbetween the side plates of the framework and the removal of tubes fromthe adja cent boiler for purposes of repair or replace ment necessitatesthe removal of the tanks bodily from the frame. To meet the latterdifficulty it has hitherto been the practice to provide a recess in theend of the tank adjacent to the smokebox but such recess does not allowremoval of all tubes, moreover the space occupied by such recess isvaluable for water or fuel capacity.

It frequently happens moreover, with this expedient, that a recess largeenough to withdraw the tubes from the boiler cannot be provided, and insuch case as before mentioned it has been necessary to. remove the tankbodily from the locomotive, a process involving considerable work andthe neces sity for the use of a crane to lift the tank.

The present invention has for its general object to meet this difficultyof inaccessibility without necessitating disconnection of the tanks fromthe locomotive frame and the invention consists broadly in so mountingand arranging the tanks as to give or permit easy accessibility. Onefeature of the invention consists in rendering the tanks movable awayfrom the normal position sufficiently to permit withdrawal of the boilertubes by mechanism forming an integral part of the locomotive andwithout any actual disconnection of the tanks from the locomotive frameand a further feature of the invention consists in raising the tanks andsupporting them above the plate frames instead of letting their bottomsrest upon the side frames as is the usual practice with articulatedengines having plate frames and in which cases it is practicallyimpossible to obtain access to the pipes situated between the sideframes without first removing the tanks or placing the locomotive over apit. Removal of the tanks involves a considerable amount of work and theuse ofa' crane, which is not always convenient unilst pits to giveaccess to the underside of the locomotive are not always available.Moreover as the pipes are usually situated above the axles of thelocomotives even the use of a pit does not give easy access.

Articulated locomotives according to the invention are illustrateddiagrammatically by the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is ageneral view of an articulated locomotive of one form shown in two partsfor convenience, and Figure 2 is a similar view of a modified locomotiveconstructed according to the invention.

In these drawings 2 is the boiler unit of a locomotive having a frame 3connected by articulated joints 3 and 3 to engine units 4 and 5 havingframes 4 and 5.

I In Figure 1 the means for facilitating a'c cess to the pipes andelements under a tank shown as applied to the tank in the rear of theboiler consists in supporting the tank 6 on struts or rigid supports 7,8and 9, th'ese struts "being secured to the tank 6 and the plate frames 5and constructed to give sufficient space between them to provide amplefacilities of access to the pipes and parts under the tank and betweenthe side plate frame members.

As applied to the tank 10 at the front of the boiler the means forfacilitating access to and removability of the tubes and parts under thetank 10 consist in mounting the tank on rollers 11, running on the frame4, the

tank being moved from its normal position to 735 the position indicatedby chain lines by means of a screw 12 running 111 bearings 1n the endmember of the frame 4: and having a pro ectportion 12 for theapplication of a rotating handle or implement. The screw is providedwith a nut 12 fixed to the under plate of the tank 10.

By rotating the screw 12 the tank can be drawn out to the extentindicated by the chain lines and so not only facilitates access to thesame facilities are obtained by hinging the tank 13 at 14 so that it canbe tilted to the position indicated by chain lines by means of a curvedrack 15 fixed at its upper end to the underside of the tank and gearingwith a pinion 16 of which the shaft is mounted in the fixed extension Pof the frame, and is provided with a projection to facilitate theapplication of a handle or implement for rotating it to lift and lowerthe tank.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the invention obviates thenecessity for a long re cess in the tank, or for removal of the tankfrom the locomotive by providing means whereby the tank may be easilymoved from its normal position on the locomotive, to such an extent asto give the necessary facilities for removal of the boiler tubes orinspection of the pipes situated under the tank, between the engineframes.

In the normal position the tank will be rigidly secured to the frameworkor structure of the locomotive, but the structure of the tank andframework will be so made that it will be possible to move the tank onthe locomotive without the necessity for the use of a crane or otherappliance not carried as an integral part of the locomotive.

What I claim and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is 1. Articulatedlocomotives of the type having a water or fuel tank located in front ofthe boiler smokebox, wherein said tank is movable upon, but withoutdisconnection from, its supporting frame to give access to the boilertubes.

2. Articulated locomotives of the type having a water or fuel tankplaced in front of the smokebox, wherein the said tank is movable bymeans of mechanism carried by or upon the locomotive.

3. A locomotive in accordance with claim 1, wherein the tank is mountedon rollers on the'under frame and providedwith nut and screw mechanismfor moving longitudinally along the frame.

In witness whereof I affix my signature.

ROBERT HARBEN WHITELEGG.

